Vol. 19 No.1 21 Colonial Way, Rehoboth, MA 02769 Tel/Fax (508) 252-3524 WINTER 2010 Editor: Edward J. August Web Site: www.navycruisers.org President: Bill Sperberg

USS HARRISON (DD-573) alongside USS VICKSBURG (CL-86) 16 May 1945 in TG38.1. Courtesy NAVSOURCE.ORG, contributed by John Chiquoine IN THIS ISSUE

2 USS VICKSBURG (CL-86) 5 PRESIDENT - SECRETARY - TREASURER DESKS 6 BEING A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES - Olivia Tanner 7 USNCSA OFFICERS 9 USNCSA Districts - Founders - Past Presidents - New Life Members - Past Conventions 10 CHAPLAIN'S CORNER 13 PROFILES - Bob Board - Robert E. Smeltzer 15 MEMORIES OF OKINAWA - John Bloomer 16 MEMORIES - BMCM Robert L. Traugh, USN (Ret.) 18 THEY'RE EITHER TOO YOUNG OR TOO OLD - NOW OPEN AND FULLY STOCKED 19 MY SHIP, MY SHIPMATES - Henry A. Wristen 23 HAUNTED SHIP 24 ALL ABOARD USS QUINCY-ALL THREE - Jessica Bartlett 25 AN UNBELIEVABLE COINCIDENCE - Richard A. Brown 26 NAGASAKI - SASEBO OCCUPATION - Bud Browell 27 YELM MAN VISITS SOLDIERS' GRAVES EVERY SATURDAY - Seth Truscott 28 FINDING JOHN HENRY ZIEGLER - Billy Griffith IV 30 1972 ORISKANY (CV A-42) DEPLOYMENT COLLISION WITH USS NITRO (AE-23), TONKIN GULF - John Buckley 33 VETERANS' DAY SPEECH 2009 - Luke Gorney 35 HAZARDOUS NAVIGATION - Bob Winsjansen 36 BATTLE STARS AND NAVAL AWARDS - NAVY MUSTANG 37 USS BALTIMORE (CA-68) 38 REGIONAL NEWS 39 EASTERN WASHINGTON 40 WASHINGTON STATE 41 PHOENIX CHAPTER 42 SAN ANTONIO CHAPTER 44 DELAWARE CHAPTER - NORTH COUNTY CHAPTER- USS ALBANY ASSOCIATION 45 USNCSA VETERANS' DAY CEREMONY 46 PRECIOUS CONCEPTS OF FREEDOM HAVE NOW SURVIVED 229 YEARS HONORED GUEST SPEAKER 47 MAIL CALL 53 NEW MEMBERS - RECRUITERS - CONTRIBUTORS 55 AWARDS AND DECORATIONS - Dear USNCSA Members - SNIPES - SCUTTLEBUTT 56 APPLICATION Insert I II III USNCSA Annual Reunion 2010 Information IV REUNIONS Finding John Henry Ziegler My Billy Griffith IV

city's The Daily Times dating back to the 1880's. This was On February 15, where the strenuous research began. 1898 at 9:40 pm, The first major article I fell upon was dated from December the Battleship USS 26, 1899, and stated that Ziegler's body would be retul11ed to Maine exploded in New Brunswick from Christobal Colon Cemetery in Havana Harbor, upon his mother's (my great-great-great-grandmother) request , claiming the to be buried in their Evergreen Cemetery family plot. The USS lives of 266 Texas was bringing the bodies of the sailors to Virginia to be American sailors. buried in Arlington National Cemetery, and should John's Two-months later, coffin be identified, he would be returned to New Jersey. America cried, After reading this, I made two phone calls one to the "Remember the Evergreen Cemetery and another to Arlington. He was buried Maine, to hell with in neither. It was a possibility, however, that he was one of the Spain!" and "unknowns" interred in the Arlington USS Maine Plot, but if plunged into the this was so, then \-vewould never be able to locate his grave. I Spanish-American wasn't going to give up just because of this possibility. I was War. One of these determined to learn as much as I could. men aboard the ship was my great- great-great-uncle, John Henry Ziegler, a 23-year- old coal-passer from NeVi Bruns\yick, New Jersey. Listed as "missing" and "unidentified" by the , his exact burial location was unknO\YI1to his family. Since then, the family legend was that he had gone down with the ship and his body was never recovered. In September 2009, a seemingly endless search came to a halt "'hen I located the sailor's remains. Being an avid history buff. 1 immediately took interest in this piece of my family's history \\-hen I was first made aware by my grandmother at the Thanksgi\ing table in 2008. I was able to locate official naval do umentation clarifying that John Hemy Ziegler was aboard the hip. and killed as a result of the explosion in Havana Harbor. From there on however, the road was cold, and I could only rel~ on the story that my grandmother had told me. Haying no efficient research This Memorial located at the New Brunswick NJ material, there was nothing more I could do. Cemetery is dedicated to the three New Brunswick In August of 2009, my family had planned a trip to sailors aboard the USS Maine that were killed Antietam National Battlefield and a \-isit for me to Shepherds aboard the ship in Havana Harbor. University in Shepherdstown. \\-est \-irginia. The night before we left, I was searching for monuments for the Battle of Every record that 1pulled up showed that Ziegler was either Shepherdstown (September 19-20. I 62) online, and decided "missing" or "unidentified", but I knew there was still a chance to read a listing of monuments to the SS Maine. One of the that these reports may have been prepared too early and that he results caught my eye. Located in '\ew Brunswick, NJ, the could have been accounted for after. In another December New Brunswick Sailor's Memorial \\as dedicated in 1899 to 1899 article, a sailor on leave in New Brunswick had told the three sailors from the city that \\-ere killed aboard the Maine. papers that he was present at the burials in Havana and that he One of the names carved into the monument was my great- saw the coffins of my great-great-great-uncle and William H. great-great-uncle's. Robinson (one of the other sailors from the city). This piece of The finding of the monument sparked my determination to "evidence" confused me, but expanded my thinking. continue the search and pick-up \\here I left off. I figured that Obviously when he was pulled out of the wreck, he was able to if he was this important to the people of New Brunswick to be identified, and therefore was neither missing nor have a monument dedicated to him and the two others, then unidentifiable. they would have to know something about him. My first I continued the research and pieced together the city's story resource was Dr. Robert Belvin, the city historian. Dr. Belvin after the Maine disaster as well. I was able to bring up led me to the New Brunswick Free Public Library's online documentation regarding the memorial services to the sailors newspaper archives. The archives consisted of copies of the and the fundraising for the monument. I really learned a lot USNCSA -28- WINTER 2010 more about how the public was affected by the incident. It seemed that for two straight years, there was some sort of mention of the Maine in the papers each day. The citizens of New Brunswick really felt for and mourned the loss of the three men. I really felt proud when each aliicle would title them as the "Maine Heroes".

A headstone for John H. Zeigler is at a , Florida cemetery. The inscription reads: JNO H. ZEIGLER COAL Billy Griffith at the Memorial --- Inscription reads: PASSER .S. BATTLESHIP "MAINE" KILLED IN HAVANA, THE CITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. ERECTS THIS MEMORIAL HARBOR, FER. IS, 1898. (JNO instead of JOHN was used TO HER THREE SONS WHO PERISHED ON THE U.S.S. MAINE because of space constriction on the headstone). The FEBRUARY IS, 1898 IN HAVANA HARBOR, CUBA Griffith family is working to have a similar headstone FREDERICK LAWRENCE JERNEE WILLIAM HENRY ROBINSON placed at the family plot in New Brunswick, N.J. JOHN HENRY ZIEGLER I leamed so much hom this experience. I was able to put In mid-September one of my mother's colleagues from my character and wits to the real test, and earned so much work was pitching into the effort and actually stumbled upon m~re than the front page of several newspapers. In October I the most conclusive piece of information. I remember my gaw a lecture and presentation on the USS Maine, Spanish- mother calling me up saying that there was a plot in Key West American War, and my search in front of the New Brunswick Cemetery, Florida containing twenty-seven sailors killed on Hi torical Society. I had a crowd of people who said they the Maine. That same day, we made a call to the Cemetery came. because they read about me in the newspaper and where sexton Russell Britain went out to the plot to see if John thoue:ht it was incredible that a 17-year-old did this. I blew Henry Ziegler was one of the men there. them- all away with my presentation and they left the room Sitting in study hall during school, I received a text sa ine: that I could be a histOly teacher right now. Doing a message from my mother. When I opened the text I nearly fell lectur~ like this was me living my dream. All I want to do out of my seat as I read, "We found him! We found him! We \\hen I graduate college is teach and write about history, and found him!" It was true. There, buried in Key West was my through this experience I was not only given the chance to great-great-great-uncle. When I got home from school, I teach history, but I was able to personally connect to it through opened an e-mail with a picture Mr. Britain had taken of the my great-great-great-uncle's memory. headstone. It was by-far one of the most compelling moments of my life. This feeling came over me that I can't describe. I Bilh· Gr!Uith IV is the son of William R. 1lI and Cheryl Griffith had solved an III-year-old family mystery, and I knew it was and (he Grandson of Walter and Patricia Hohner (USS because I never gave up despite great odds, and that I had the Ports/IIou(h (CL-102) & USS Wisconsin (BB-64) will to persevere regardless of the results. This discovery also opened up new theories for the story EdiTOr's Note: An article by Jared Halwasser, staff writer for surrounding John Ziegler's burial. The Key West Cemetery the Courier News in New Jersey appeared in that paper on plot for the USS Maine was dedicated in March of 1898, a September 28, 2009 highlighting Billy's efforts. As a result of month after the explosion. The men buried there were not that article. Billy received a package in the mail ,Fom one of interred at all in Havana, but immediately brought to Key West Ziegler's relatives, Laverne White's Grandmother, a sister of for burial. Leo Mullen, the sailor claiming he had seen my John Hemy Ziegler. The Ziegler's had ten children. She relative's coffin, couldn't have, because John Ziegler was mailed this and otherfamily tree information to him. never buried in Christobal Colon Cemetely. My theory is that Mullen told the families this to ease the suffering and concern for their loved ones' condition after their deaths. ~.S._ AVY CRUISER SAILORS ASSOC. Non-Profit 21 COLONIAL WAY Organization REHOBOTH, MA 02769 U.S. Postage PAID PelmitNoA Rehoboth, MA

SS CHICAGO (CG-ll) as she appeared on her re-commissioning on 2 May 1964 at San Francisco Naval Shipyard. The destroyer to the right is USS SOMERS (DD-947).